Vacuum cleaner



R. S. WATERS VACUUM CLEANER Nov. 22, 1966 Filed Sept. 8, 1964 2Sheets-Sheet 1 Nov. 22, 1966 R. s. WATERS 3,286,296

VACUUM CLEANER Filed Sept. 8, 1964 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 WITNESSES INVENTOR@/M W Roberr $.Wo1ers BY I) WW FN ATTORNEY United States Patent3,286,296 VACUUM CLEANER Robert S. Waters, Lexington, Ohio, assignor toWestinghouse Electric Corporation, East Pittsburgh, Pa., a corporationof Pennsylvania Filed Sept. 8, 1964, Ser. No. 394,852 Claims. (Cl.15422) This invention relates to upright vacuum cleaners in general and,more particularly, to a rug nozzle guard for vacuum cleaners of thistype.

The type of cleaner herein contemplated is so constructed thatdirt-laden air passes into a dirt separating container before enteringthe fan unit of the cleaner. An apparatus of this type may, therefore,utilize a fan designed to draw only clean air, inasmuch as the dirt isfiltered out before the air reaches the fan. As is well known to thoseskilled in the art such a fan is capable of producing a much highersuction than one that is designed to pass dirt-laden air.

Ordinarily, a suction cleaner can be readily moved over the surface tobe cleaned because most rugs possess sufficient weight or body to resistexcessive arching of the rug into the nozzle which is caused by the highsuction produced by the type of fan described above. However, othertypes of rugs, such as lightweight cotton or throw rugs are drawn intothe nozzle, creating resistance to movement, thereby making it moredifficult to manually propel the cleaner over the rug as well asimpairing proper cleanmg.

' Various solutions to the above outlined problem have been tried whichfor the most part have been successful but their success has beenlessened by the problems and disadvantages encountered.

For example, some prior art devices have been provided with skeletalattachments for maintaining the inlet to the nozzle at a spaced distancefrom the surface of the rug for preventing the rug from being drawn intothe nozzle. The disadvantage of this type of arrangement is that iteliminates the air seal that normally exists between the nozzle and therug thereby decreasing the efficiency of the cleaner. Other prior artdevices have been provided with attachments which fit into the inlet ofthe nozzle for reducing the area of suction. Obviously, this isundesirable from the standpoint of suction efliciency. In other words,the attachment creates an additional pressure drop at the inlet of thenozzle which substantially decreases the quantity of air flowtherethrough.

Accordingly, it is the general object of this invention to provide a newand improved rug nozzle guard for upright vacuum cleaners.

It is a more particular object of this invention to pro vide a new andimproved rug nozzle guard for upright vacuum cleaners which minimizesthe adverse affect of high suction on lightweight or similar rugs, yetprovides a leak proof seal between it and the cleaner nozzle.

Another object of this invention is to provide a new and improved rugnozzle guard that can easily be removed and replaced without the use oftools.

Still another object of this invention is to provide a new and improvedrug nozzle guard which can be made inexpensively by simple manufacturingmethods.

Further objects and advantages of this invention will become apparent asthe following description proceeds and features of novelty whichcharacterize the invention will be pointed out with particularity in theclaims annexed to and forming a part of this specification.

For a better understanding of the invention, reference may be had to theaccompanying drawings in which:

FIGURE 1 is a side elevational view of a vacuum cleaner, partly brokenaway, incorporating one embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 2 is a partial bottom plan view of the vacuum cleaner illustratedin FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary perspective view, partially in section, of thebottom of the cleaner shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken on the line IV IV of FIG. 3; and

FIG. 5 is a schematic view showing the initial and final position of thenozzle guard with respect to the sealing gasket.

Referring to the drawings, especially FIGS. 1 and 2, reference character10 designates a vacuum cleaner movably supported by front wheels 11 andrear wheels 12, only one of the rear wheels being shown. The cleaner 10comprises a nozzle structure 13 pivotally mounted to a dust-containerhousing 14 by means of a hinge 16 (FIGS. 1 and 2). The nozzle structure13 is provided with a pair of longitudinal walls 17 and a pair oftransverse walls 18 which cooperate to provide a suction inlet 19 (bestshown in FIG. 3) which opens through the bottom of the nozzle structure13 and communicates with a dust-container 21 through a duct 22 (seeFIG. 1) and an outlet 23 provided in the nozzle structure.

A nozzle guard 24 (FIGS. 1, 2 and 3), made from any suitable material,for example, metal, is adapted to be mounted at the inlet 19 in a mannerto be described below. The nozzle guard comprises parallel longitudinalmembers 25 which are joined at their extremities by parallel transversemembers 26 to form a substantially rectangular box-like structure havingcontinuous top and bottom surfaces 27 and 28 (see FIG. 3), the topsurface being coextensive with the free ends of the walls 17 and 18 whenthe nozzle guard is mounted on the nozzle structure. Attached to thebottom surface 28 in a spaced parallel arrangement are a plurality ofcross members 29 which serve to prevent the carpet from being drawn upinto the nozzle and at the same time permit maximum cont-act between arotating brush 31 (FIGS. 1 and 2) and the carpet being cleaned. Thedistance between the surfaces 27 and 28 is predetermined such that thecross members 29 are uniformly spaced a distance from the suction inlet19 in order to minimize clogging of the inlet due to the long soft pileof certain types of carpets and to prevent the carpet from being pulledagainst the inlet.

A combination sealing gasket and bumper 32, made from any suitablematerial, for example, vinyl, is secured to the side walls of the nozzlestructure 13, as indicated at 33, by any suitable means. The bumperportion extends across the front of the nozzle structure 13 and isprovided with a central opening 34 having a peripheral recess forreceiving a lens element 35 (best shown in FIG. 3).

The gasket portion of the combination sealing gasket and bumper 32 isfastened to the free ends of the walls 17 and 18 intermediate thesuction inlet 17 and the nozzle guard 24 and is provided with aperipheral recess 36 (FIG. 3) for receiving the top surface 27 of thenozzle guard 24. When the nozzle guard is secured in place (FIGS. 2 and3) the top surface 27 of the nozzle guard engages the sealing gasketwithin the recess 36 and the free ends of the walls 17 and 18 engage acontinuous flange 9 in the sealing gasket (see FIG. 3) to produce aneifective ai-r seal thereat, pressure being applied at four points in amanner to be described below.

A pair of pins 37 provided on the forward one of the longitudinalmembers 25 are adapted to cooperate with a pair of spring hooks 38provided on the forward one of the walls 17. The spring hooks arevertically positioned with respect to the inlet 19, such that when thepins are initially inserted, the nozzle guard 24 is oriented at an anglewith respect to the plane of the inlet 19 (see FIG. 5). As the rear oneof the longitudinal members 25 is pushed down against the sealing gasket32, the spring hooks are extended thereby exerting pressure between theforward half of the continuous top surface 27 and the sealing gasket. Apair of cam levers 39 rotatably mounted on the nozzle structure 13 areadapted to co operate with a pair of cam followers 40 disposed in therearward one of the longitudinal members 25 of the nozzle guard 24. Thecam levers when rotated to their locked positions engage the camfollowers 40 thereby applying pressure between the rearward half of thetop surface 27 and the sealing gasket 32. A spring washer 42 (FIG.interposed between the cam lever and the nozzle structure serves to biasthe cam lever in a Well known manner upon actuation thereof oftransverse notches 41 which serve to direct air flow through the pile ofa rug in a direction parallel to the surface being cleaned rather thanthrough the back of the rug. It will be understood that this arrangementenables the cleaner to be used on rubber-backed rugs with a maximumdegree of efiiciency since the air cannot be drawn through the back ofthe rug.

It will be apparent that there has been disclosed a nozzle guard for anupright vacuum cleaner which increases the overall efficiency ofoperation of the cleaner.

While there has been shown and described what is at present consideredto be the preferred embodiment of the invention, modifications thereofwill readily occur to those skilled in the art. It is not desired,therefore, that the invention be limited to the specific arrangementsshown and described and it is intended to cover in the appended claimsall such modifications as fall within the true spirit and scope of theinvention.

What is claimed is:

1. In an upright vacuum cleaner having a nozzle structure adapted tomove over a surface to be cleaned, in combination, a pair oflongitudinal will members and a pair of transverse wall memberscooperating to form a suction inlet, a nozzle guard having a pair ofparallel longitudinal frame members and a pair of transverse framemembers cooperating to form a substantially boxlike structure having acontinuous top surface, a sealing gasket interposed between said nozzleand the free ends of said wall members, a pair of pins disposed on oneof said longitudinal frame members and projecting outwardly therefrom,extensible spring hooks secured to one of said longitudinal wall membersand adapted to receive said pins in such a manner that the plane of saidpins and the top surface of the nozzle guard are angulated with respectto the plane of the sealing gasket, at least one rotatable lever securedto the nozzle structure adjacent the other of said longitudinal wallmembers and adapted to exert pressure on a cam follower provided in theother of said longitudinal frame members while 4 simultaneouslyextending said spring hooks whereby sealing between said wall membersand said sealing gasket and between said top surface and said sealinggasket is effected.

2. Structure as specified inclaim 1, wherein said sealing gasket isprovided with a continuous flange on one surface thereof and acontinuous recess on a surface of the gasket opposite said flange, saidflange being adapted to abut the free ends of said wall members and saidrecess to receive said continuous top surface.

3. In an upright vacuum cleaner having a nozzle structure adapted tomove over a surface being cleaned, in combination, a pair oflongitudinal wall members and a pair of transverse wall memberscooperating to form a suction inlet, a nozzle guard having a pair oflongitudinal frame members and a pair of transverse frame members, saidframe members each comprising a vertical portion and a horizontalportion and cooperating to form a substantially box-like structurehaving a continuous top surface at the free ends of said verticalportions, a sealing gasket positioned between the free ends of said wallmembers and said continuous top surface, extensible means including ahook for securing one of said longitudinal members to an adjacentlongitudinal frame member to form a hinge between said nozzle guard andsaid nozzle structure, rotatable means secure-d to the nozzle structureadjacent the other of said longitudinal wall members and adapted toexert pressure on the other of said longitudinal frame members whilesimultaneously extending said extensible means, whereby sealing betweenthe free ends of said walls and the sealing gasket and between said topsurface and said sealing gasket is effected.

4. Structure as specified in claim 3, including a plurality of crossmembers secured in a spaced parallel arrangement to the horizontalportions of said longitudinal frame members, said cross members beingadapted to minimize arching of a rug into the suction inlet.

5. Structure as specified in claim 3, wherein said horizontal portionsof said longitudinal frame members are provided with a plurality ofnotches for directing air in a direction parallel to the surface beingcleaned.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,328,737 1/1920Hoover 15338 X 2,785,431 3/1957 Pardee 15378 X 2,799,040 7/ 1957 Hageal15-420 X 2,851,717 9/1958 Kasper 15-378 X ROBERT W. MICHELL, PrimaryExaminer.

3. IN AN UPRIGHT VACUUM CLEANER HAVING A NOZZLE STRUCTURE ADAPTED TOMOVE OVER A SURFACE BEING CLEANED IN COMBINATION, A PAIR OF LONGITUDINALWALL MEMBERS AND A PAIR OF TRANSVERSE WALL MEMBERS COOPERATING TO FORM ASUCTION INLET, A NOZZLE GUARD HAVING A PAIR OF LONGITUDINAL FRAMEMEMBERS AND A PAIR OF TRANSVERSE FRAME MEMBERS, SAID FRAME MEMBERS EACHCOMPRISING A VERTICAL PORTION AND A HORIZONTAL PORTION AND COOPERATINGTO FORM A SUBSTANTIALLY BOX-LIKE STRUCTURE HAVING A CONTINUOUS TOPSURFACE AT THE FREE ENDS OF SAID VERTICAL PORTIONS, A SEALING GASKETPOSITIONED BETWEEN THE FREE ENDS OF SAID WALL MEMBERS AND SAIDCONTINUOUS TOP SURFACE, EXTENSIBLE MEANS INCLUDING A HOOK FOR SECURINGONE OF SAID LONGITUDINAL MEMBERS TO AN ADJACENT LONGITUDINAL FRAMEMEMBER TO FORM A HINGE BETWEEN SAID NOZZLE GUARD AND SAID NOZZLESTRUCTURE, ROTATABLE MEANS SECURED TO THE NOZZLE STRUCTURE ADJACENT THEOTHER OF SAID LONGITUDINAL WALL MEMBERS AND ADAPTED TO EXERT PRESSURE ONTHE OTHER OF SAID LONGITUDINAL FRAME MEMBERS WHILE SIMULTANEOUSLYEXTENDING SAID EXTENSIBLE MEANS, WHEREBY SEALING BETWEEN THE FREE ENDSOF SAID WALLS AND THE SEALING GASKET AND BETWEEN SAID TOP SURFACE ANDSAID SEALING GASKET IS EFFECTED.